‘It’s more important to be the wall behind your team-mates’

Mumbai: With a smile, Roman Weidenfeller recalled his early days in football – long before he was a part of the German team that won the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He was the goalkeeper for the youth team in his village in Rhineland-Palatinate in the west of the country. But for all his skill and talent, he rarely got a chance to show off.

“Our team had some good players so I didn’t get to make too many saves,” he said. “At the end of the match, the strikers or the midfielders who scored would be given gifts like ice cream or candy. It sometimes made me want to play as a striker as well.”

Over the years, he would become one of the most decorated and capped players for Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, with whom he would win the league title twice and DFB-Pokal just as many times. But as he remembered the tale from his past, it reflected in the way goalkeepers, and perhaps even defenders, are treated today compared to attacking players.

“The way football works is always that the strikers and midfielders get more importance from the public and officials, than the goalkeepers,” said Weidenfeller, in an interview organized by the Sony Sports Network.

“In the last 20 years, goalkeepers have started to become more famous. Before that, goalkeepers were not as popular and not paid well. But of course, (as Liverpool won the Premier League) tomorrow you will see photos of Mo Salah and other goal scorers everywhere.”

In the history of the Ballon D’or that started in 1956 – the annual award for best player – Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper to have won it, in 1963.

Weidenfeller plied his trade at a time when the role of a goalkeeper had started to change. From being shot-stoppers and the last line of defence, goalkeepers had become the first line of attack. They were required to be more adapt with the ball at their feet, not just charging out of their box to make interceptions, but also make penetrative passes, both short and long.

The 44-year-old too had to work on upgrading himself to the changing style.

“We had this machine we used that would shoot out footballs at different speeds and we had to stop it with our feet and pass it back. It was a different thing because in my youth we used to learn only how to catch and save the ball,” he said.

“But at the end of the day, the goalkeeper has to stop the ball. It’s more important to be the wall behind your team-mates.”

Along with the changing roles for players in this new generation, there has also been a change in fortunes of the German team, and even Borussia Dortmund, since when Weidenfeller played.

Over a decade ago, both teams were forces to be reckoned with. Last year, it was considered a surprise that Dortmund reached the Champions League final – losing out to Real Madrid. And since Germany won the World Cup in 2014, the four-time champions lost out in the group stage in the next two consecutive tournaments.

“In 2014, we had big players, they were tough, they were characters, and they came onto the pitch with confidence,” Weidenfeller recalled about the German team from his playing days. “The mentality of my generation was that they all wanted to work hard. We had the talent and grew up with the tools, but we were hard workers. They wanted to win every match/

“The new generation is very talented, they are growing and everything is there for them. But the way they go is a bit more (taking it) easier than our way. They feel that if they don’t win today, they’ll win tomorrow, it’s an easier life. They don’t have the real confidence that we had. Football for (today’s players) is a job. We made our hobby our job.”

Weidenfeller, though critical, was optimistic in the current German team. Despite the disappointments of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, the team did reach the quarter-final of the 2024 European Championships, losing narrowly to eventual winner Spain in extra time.

“The team is growing. They have a fine coach in Julian Nagelsmann,” he added. “But more important is that the people work hard on themselves and work on the team spirit.

“And next year is the World Cup. Maybe we win it.”